Courtesy Photo | Rear Adm. Sean R. Filipowski, Director of Warfare Integration for Information...... read more read more
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MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan - On Oct. 10, a ceremony was held onboard Misawa Air Base, Japan, to mark the disestablishment of U.S. Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Misawa, Japan, after the command's 52 years of distinguished service to the Navy, the nation, and its Japanese allies.
Rear Admiral Sean R. Filipowski, Director of Warfare Integration for Information Dominance (OPNAV N2/N6F), presided over the ceremony, and Rear Admiral (Retired) Alex Miller served as the guest speaker.
“NIOC Misawa is, and will always be remembered as a critical strand in our national defense and information dominance fiber. I continue to be impressed by the efforts of the officers, enlisted personnel, and civilians before me, who have well answered all of the Chief of Naval Operations tenets of warfighting first, operating forward, and being ready – you embody his charge,” said Filipowski.
Filipowski previously served as the U.S. Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) Misawa, Japan Executive Officer, 1999-2000, and Rear Admiral Miller previously served as the NSGA Misawa Commanding Officer from September 1993 to August 1996.
NSGA Misawa was renamed NIOC Misawa on Oct. 1, 2005 due to the disestablishment of Commander, Naval Security Group Command and the resubordination of all NIOCs at the time under Naval Network Warfare Command on Oct. 1, 2005.
“[T]ime has passed, the mission has changed, and technology has now provided a new and cheaper means to provide the nation the information it needs. This chapter in Cryptologic support to our nation is coming to an end,” Miller said. “But, it will live on in the minds of those who served here, in the awards they received and the lives their actions saved.”
For more than five decades, Misawa Sailors have deployed throughout the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Middle East, on surface combatants, submarines and airborne platforms. They have fought alongside their joint service brethren in Iraq and Afghanistan and have logged thousands of days deployed and accumulated more than 80,000 flights hours.
Sailors have stood watch in Misawa and deployed with an ever vigilant eye toward threats in the Pacific so the citizens and Sailors of the United States and allies could rest easy all these decades. While reading ‘The Watch’ at the disestablishment ceremony, Col. Joseph Winters, Commander, Misawa Security Operations Center (MSOC), told the Sailors, civilians and families of NIOC Misawa, “…we have the watch, NIOC Misawa, you are relieved.”
The command was officially disestablished on Sept. 30, 2014 with its Airborne Direct Support mission having transferred to NIOC Hawaii on May 1, 2014. The support the command has provided to the MSOC for the last 52 years will officially end on July 1, 2015.
The 70 Sailors that currently remain at Misawa were resubordinated under NIOC Yokosuka on 30 Sept., and will remain so until they transfer to another command sometime prior to July 1, 2015.
To briefly review its remarkable history, on Jan. 5, 1962, the U.S. Navy formally established Naval Security Group Detachment (NSGD) Misawa, Japan on the southern shore of Lake Ogawara in Aomori Prefecture, Japan where the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service once practiced with Type 91 "Thunder Fish" aerial torpedoes in preparation for the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
On July 1, 1971, NSGD Misawa was commissioned as NSGA Misawa, Japan and absorbed the mission of NSGA Kemi Seya, Japan which subsequently became a subordinate detachment of NSGA Misawa.
At the height of its existence, NIOC Misawa had over 1,500 Sailors and civilians assigned; today, less than 75 Sailors and civilians are assigned.
For 52 years, NIOC Misawa and its Sailors have had a direct and lasting impact on the Cold War and numerous combat and contingency operations across the globe with one constant theme - commitment to operational excellence. The command and crews have earned numerous unit and individual awards to include: two Navy Unit Commendations, eight Meritorious Unit Commendations, four Gold Anchor Retention Excellence Awards, four Zumalt 'BOQ/BEQ' Awards, two On-the-Roof-Gang Awards (Master Chief Cryptologic Technician Interpretive (NAC) Robert J. Bishsir and Master Chief Cryptologic Technician Collections (IDW/SW) Matthew P. Bouchard), and three Travis Trophy Awards.
NIOC Misawa has been a hallmark for exceptional enlisted and officer leadership over its 52 year history.
Of note, four former Commanding Officers (Capt. George P. March, Capt. Paul W. Dillingham Jr., Capt. James S. McFarland and Capt. Alex Miller) were promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral with three of those Admirals subsequently serving a Commander, Naval Security Group Command (March, Dillingham and McFarland).
In addition to the relentless commitment to theNavy and national missions, the NIOC Misawa team has maintained a tremendous relationship with the local Misawa community and has had a significant impact on the community's welfare over the years.
The command's impressive community relations efforts date back to the 1960's when it was only a detachment, with highlights including volunteer events with the Akebono Orphanage, strong relationship with the citizens of the town of Gonohe, and after-school English classes with local children through the Jido-Kan program.
NIOC Misawa's notable impact on the local Misawa community was specifically recognized in 2009, 2011 and 2013 through the presentation of the Zenkokai, or Good Conduct, award by the Nippon Zenkokai Association for outstanding public service in the Japanese community.
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2014 17:16 |
| Story ID: | 145063 |
| Location: | JP |
| Web Views: | 1,197 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, US Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Misawa, Japan Disestablished, by CDR Michael Elliot, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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